Car-coupling



(No Modem. f

. C. G. EBBR.

, OAR COUPLING.

NO. 281,251. 3 Patented July 1 7, 1883.

71 v'inessax [man-Z027 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

CASPER C. EBER, OF ST. PAUL, MINNESOTA.

CAR-COUPLING.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 281,251, dated July 17, 1883.

Application filed April l2, i883. {No model.)

and other Railroad-Oars, of which the follow ing is a specification.

My invention relates to improvements in automatic car-couplings in which a hook-like projection is appended. to the side of the buffer and working horizontally from a pivot attachment in the rear of the bufi'er-iron by means of an arrangement of levers controlled by the operator from the side or top of the car, as the case may be. I attain these objects through the medium of the mechanism illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which- Figure 1 is the side View of the cars as coupled. Fig. 2 is a plan view of the coupling as arranged when in position. Fig. 3 is a plan of one of the buffers with the coupler thrown open, with the side cut away to show the stoppin in position.

Similar letters'refer to similar parts th roughout the several views.

The ordinary buffer-head to the draw-bar A, I notch on one side, in a manner similar to the Miller buffer, andthicken up the head, which is mortised in a like manner to the ordinary draw-bar head for the accommodation of the link and pin.

,Behind the head, in the upper and lower pieces of the ordinary draw-bar, I make a perforation which carries the pin a, which pin is made long enough to project through said perforation and allow of suflicient play up and down that the draw-hook B, to which it is attached and forms a part, may rise and fall vertically without being detached from its position.

In the side of the buffer-head A which carries the notch, between the upper and lower plates, I make a lever, O, or hinged door,which is controlled by a lever, 0. Both the levers O and C have a common fulcrum at I). A connecting-bar, D, joins the end of the lever O with the lever E, to which it is connected by a pivot, This lever E has its fulcrum in the center, and one end is attached to the connecting-rodl), to which it is pivoted. The other end of this lever E is attached to a chain, F, which passes around a pulley, G, and is attached to the end of the lever H, which lever His attached to a stout bar, I, which extends across the end of the car, being held in arms or braces J. A chain is attached to the lever H, and is carried up to the top of the car and secured. This chain is passed over a pulley. In the case of the use of this coupler on a box-car or a flat car it is not necessary, and is dispensed with. At the end of the rod or bar I is a lever, K, which is intended to rotate the bar I.

On the lower plate of the draw-bar A is a raised lug, L, which contains a socket, into which fits loosely the end of the stop-pin M, but not so loosely that it will slip out or become detached in the movements of the car or the working of the coupler. This pin has its upper end secured to the fulcrum end of the coupling-hook B by a balland-socket joint. This pin is so adjusted that as the couplinghook B is thrown out by a flange on the fulcrum-pivot of the lever E (which flange plays between the upper and lower plates of the bufi'er-head, swinging out and in on the rotation of the pivot) the entire hook Bis pushed up at and from the ball-and-socket joint at the fulcrum end by the stop-pin. M being rigid, the pin describes the arc of a circle about its fixed central point at the lug (1.

Having thus described the parts of my mechanism, I now proceed to explain the method of working the device. When at rest, the weight of the coupling hook B, tending to cause the same to reach the lowest point, falls till it rests upon the lower plate of the buffer head A, and in falling the rotation of the stop pin M throws the hook end against the bufferhead and keeps it there, at the same time shutting the flange N of the lever E against the side of the buffer-head A into a depression made to receive it, at the same time shutting, through the combination of levers E, D, and C, the lever or hinged door (I. The parts thus being at rest, the cars of a train which it is wished to couple are brought together. \Vhen the beveled heads of the coupling-hooks of each buffer slide upon the beveled heads of the buffers, and as the coupling-hooks B are thrown out from the body of the buffer, they are, by the resistance and the rotating action of the stop-pin M, raised up, and the coupling-hook B, so soon as it fails to meet with resistance from the buffer-head, falls, and is by the action of the pin M swung into the notch in the bufferhead 0, which, taking place from both sides by both hooks, makes the coupling complete. The cars may be uncoupled by the brakeman from the side of the car or from the top by pulling out the end of the lever K from the ground, or by raising the lever II from the top of the car through the medium of the chain 1 This rotates thelbar I, raises the lever H, thereby drawing on the chain F, attached to the end of the lever E, thereby rotating it about its axis; and as the flange N has the same axis and is secured to it, it (the flange N) is rotated outward, thereby thrusting the coupling-hook B away'from the buffer-head A and out of the notch O on one side, while, through the combination of levers E, D, and O, the flange or hinged door 0 is thrust open, pushing away the coupling-hook B on the other side. When the cars are drawn apart, the flanges O and N prevent (by presenting their edges to the coupling-hook B) the dropping or rotating of the coupling-hooks back into the notch O of the buffer-head. Moreover, when the hook end of the couplinghooks B comes in contact with the flanges G and N, respectively, it shuts them, or assists in shutting them, the weight of the couplinghooks being a factor, as has been shown. The advantages of my mechanism are obvious, but may be briefly stated to be that the cars may be coupled automatically upon being pushed together. The cars can'be uncoupled either from their sides'or from the top, and Again, after the when at rest or in motion.

I am aware that automatic car-couplers have been used, and I do not lay claim to the broad principle of automatic car-coupling; but

What I do claim, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is- 1. In the combination of an automatic bufferhead and draw-bar for freight and other cars, a coupling-hook, B, with'loose pin M, working in the lug L, imparting a lateral motion to the hook B when acted upon by gravity, with .the parts arranged substantially as and for the purpose described.

2. In the combination of an automatic bufferhead and draw-bar for railroad-cars, a system of levers, O D E, with doors, shutters, or flanges O and N, connected with and operated by the bar I, levers H and I, through the medium of the chains F and I with the pulleys R, or their equivalents, all substantially as set forth and described.

CASPER O. EBER.

In presence of- M. ROBERTSON, OTTO KURFFUER. 

